I have read several articles and books on wilderness survival. in all aspects of survival the 550 cord or twine of some sort come into play..ie.. shelter, food procurment ,water procurement etc.. Do I need to pull my sons little red wagon full of 550 cord behind me?????

depends on how much and how you use it. I rarely use paracord, use more of the cheap hennep string, they work for me and is cheaper and more enviorment friendly. Paracord is versitile, but not something vitial. Some rope and a bobbin of sewning thread works fine too. If you got good skills you can improvise string and rope, although it way harder than it looks like. well atleast I'm pretty bad at it...

The strength of paracord is far greater than many people realize. It can be used for anything from lashing a knife to a pole to raising or lowering large objects (like a human body) in an emergency. The amount of space it takes is well worth it's versatility. I carry 100' in a pack and a spool of 1000' in a vehicle.

To show just how strong it is, we used a double strand of it to raise a 35' radio tower by running it through an eye bolt on the peak of a house to the bumper of a 4WD vehicle.

I tend to think that you should have at least 100' of cord (paracord or similar polycord) with you when treking in the out-of-doors. I've heard many say to keep it in 50' lengths, but I find that is not a convenient length for me.

I tend to carry at least six or eight 15' lengths wrapped in little palm-width bundles (great for use with tents & dining flys, can be tied together for clothes lines) and then one 50' length. I've thought about using different color-coded lengths of 15' and 25' lengths, but haven't done that yet. I rarely use the 50' bundle.

I think that's the key with paracord, the strength to size/weight ratio versus other ropes or cords and the variety of ways in which it can be used.

I've used paracord for tying up tarps for shelter, as a replacement shoelace, a bowstring (hunting bow and fire bow), a sling, for lifting objects as mentioned previously (especially to bearproof my food supply).

I read in a survival story about a someone making a pair of snowshoes out of paracord and wound willow twigs as a frame...

It's good stuff.

I sometimes carry a 20' length (I really should do it all the time) and have a 100' length in my BOB and Hiking/Camping Backpack.

If we're really talking strength to weight/size ratios, then I would recommend (once again) dacron 120 lb fishing or kite line. I can spool 100 feet on a tongue depressor along with a bunch of duct tape and electrical tape and keep that in a pocket or pouch with lots of room left over for other things.

Paracord makes superb shoe lacing.

I just got three 100 ft hanks of 550 from countycom, weighs next to nothing, doesn't take up much room, and I'm not worried about running out for a quite a while. How long do you think it might be before you'll be able to get your hands on more??? Carry more than you think you might need.

Troy

P.S. The three hanks are for a B.O.B., daily carry is about 80 ft bent into a belt using the Slatts knot.

You can get 1000' for $40 from www.cheaperthandirt.com and cut it to whatever lengths you need.

Concerning the 550 paracord: I was using it for boot laces, but it would always loosen up after a few hours. This always happened no matter how tight I double tied it. I had to change back to real boot laces. It occured to me that the para cord (the real stuff w/ the strands inside) is supposed to be slippery so that your parachute would open rather than jamming in the pack.

By the way, I thought that "Cheaper Than Dirt" meant that I could send them a bag of dirt and that should cover it as the merchandise is supposed to be cheaper. . . .they could keep the change. :-(

I usually carry about 50ft, although a 100ft maybe even better. I have used it for the obvious, shelters and such. I have also used it in the winter to pull down dead limbs off of trees for a fire when there was several feet of snow on the ground, making collecting wood impossible by the normal means.
I have used it to dip for water when the only water was in a stream with a steep bank and no easy way down. I just tied my water bottle with the top off to the cord and let it down until I scooped up enough water. I then dumped the water into another bottle and repeated this until I had all the water I could get.
There are many uses for cord in the wilderness. Making repairs, bootlaces, bundles, you name it!. You can also take the inner lines out and make gill nets, lighter string, whatever.
I have never needed more than 50ft, but usually travel with other folks that keep about the same amount with them. So, you be the judge. Cheers!

Carry as much as you feel comfortable with! Or none at all, if you don't care for it.

Personally, I intend to carry fishing line in my PSK (80-100 lbs test) for lashing, fishing, etc because it takes up very minimal room because 550 cord takes up too much room inside the tin. Then I carry 550 cord too for more robust jobs (tying down tarps, heavy duty lashing, etc).

I found you can stuff quite a bit into an M&M's mini container....


Fold it a couple of times about the length of the container, then start at the bottom and start wrapping it around starting from the bottom (or top, you may need a double wrap and you want to end it at the top). You can get a good 21-25 feet inside the longer one <img src="/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />